Overbooked Reader

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is one of the best young adult fantasy novels I've ever read. Similar to Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games and Garth Nix's Sabriel , Maas's novel features a strong young female protagonist. Betrayed and imprisoned, the feared assassin Calaena Sandorthien is given an unexpected chance at freedom. Defeat twenty-three other deadly killers in a competition, and she will be allowed to serve as the King's Champion. Then, she can earn her freedom after four years of service.  Unaware of her true identity, her fellow competitors believer her to be nothing more than a petty jewel thief. Her plan is to remain inconspicuous by pretending to be mediocre and only revealing her true strength at the very end.  However, complications arise when her fellow competitors begin dying one by one. Their bodies are torn to shreds; their brains are sucked dry. A supernatural evil seems to dwell in the castle, but how can that be when all forms of...

Queen of Sorcery is book two of The Belgariad series written by David Eddings. You can click on the link to read my review of book one, the  Pawn of Prophecy . The second book picks up shortly after the first one ended, with Garion using his innate sleuthing skills to foil the plans of yet another group of enemy spies. As Garion and his companions continue on their quest to find the stolen orb of power, the young boy begins to discover more about his powers of sorcery, and, his destiny. The more he learns, the greater his desire to go home to the farm where he grew up and live a normal life. However, fate has different plans for him, plans more dangerous and earthshaking than he could ever imagine. My Thoughts: Queen of Sorcery introduces interesting new characters, including Princess Ce'Nadra, who is also a wood nymph. There are lots of hints suggesting  that she'll end up marrying Garion in the future, their seeming incompatibility aside. The book also reveals ...

I'd first like to thank my friend Thomas for recommending me this book. Without him, I might have never known about fantasy novelist David Eddings nor read any of his books. Now I'm reading my third David Eddings book! Pawn of Prophecy is the first book of The Belgariad  series written by David Eddings. The novel begins with the story of a powerful orb, stolen by the evil god Torak. His theft had fueled a world-ravaging war between gods and men, until Belgarath the Sorcerer managed to retake and hide the orb. After being defeated in battle, Torak is asleep, but not dead. The story of Torak and Belgarath, which happened lifetimes ago, is now remembered only through the fantastic tales of traveling storytellers, like Mister Wolf, who sometimes visits the small farm where our protagonist Garion and his Aunt Pol live.  Just a young boy, Garion doesn't know these stories are true, and that someone has stolen the orb and may be trying to wake Torak. He ...

If you've read my review of Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, you'll know I absolutely loved the fantasy novel. I initially wanted to postpone reading The Well of Ascension , book two of the Mistborn series, so I could take a breather from the awesomeness of the first book. But I couldn't resist! I finishing reading the second book over the weekend. I did the bulk of my reading on Valentine's Day afternoon in Starbucks 515 Shaw, which is like my second home. Thus, the Heart's Day greeting sticker on my cup of coffee. Book two begins shortly after book one ends, with Vin killing The Lord Ruler and overthrowing The Final Empire. As the new king of Luthadel, Ellend quickly sets up his parliamentary government. He gives equal power and representation to the noblemen, the merchants, and the skaa (former slaves), in hopes of building an empire where everyone is equal. However, things seem to be turning out for the worse than for the better for the ...

I was really surprised to see on my Facebook feed one day, an announcement that The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami had just been released in Fully Booked. I had no idea that Murakami was releasing a new book, much less a short story. And there I was thinking I was in the know about what was happening regarding one of my favorite authors. Being a loyal Murakamist, I drove to the Fully Booked branch in Power Plant Mall after work and bought myself a copy of the book.  The Strange Library is also a library book. "For internal use only," reads the book's spine. The book also sports a different design, with flaps at the bottom and top featuring colored illustrations, as can be seen in the photograph below. These flaps can be folded inwards, so they don't detract from the reading process. Several other illustrations can be found throughout the book. The text in the book is in a larger, 'typewriter' font, which lends it an old-school feel. The boo...

Soulless is the first novel in the Parasol Protectorate series written by Gail Carriger. It's a Victorian era, somewhat steampunk take on the vampire-werewolf-fantasy romance genre. It features a steamship, automatons, carriages, tea, parasols, and treacle tart. Really charming stuff. The novel introduces readers to the preternatural , a human with no soul, but with the ability to suck the power out of supernatural beings like vampires and werewolves. All that's required is the preternatural's touch. Once the preternatural lets go or loses bodily contact, the supernatural regains its powers. Alexia Tarabotti, the story's main protagonist, is a preternatural. She is also a spinster, somewhat ostracized from Victorian society because of her being unmarried and a bit uncouth.The story begins with her being rudely attacked by a vampire, whom she accidentally kills. This gets Alexia into all kinds of trouble: with the (annoying yet adorable) werewolf alpha Lord M...